John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
6917 Robert Charles Winthrop 1809-1894 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 6917 |
| AUTHOR: | Robert Charles Winthrop (1809–1894) |
| QUOTATION: | Our Country,—whether bounded by the St. John’s and the Sabine, or however otherwise bounded 1 or described, and be the measurements more or less,—still our Country, to be cherished in all our hearts, to be defended by all our hands. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Toast at Faneuil Hall on the Fourth of July, 1845. |
| Note 1. Toast offered by Stephen Decatur (1779–1820) at a public dinner at Norfolk, Va., April, 1816: Our country! in her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong. The same idea, called forth by the Mexican War, was expressed by John J. Crittenden of Kentucky: I hope to find my country in the right: however, I will stand by her, right or wrong. [back] |